A glimpse of Supernova 1006

It's difficult to imagine what the world saw in the spring of 1006, but we can experience a sort of astronomical flashback through the "constellation" of sixty-six satellites operated by Iridium Satellite LLC. Each satellite maintains its orientation to the Earth's surface in such a way that the Sun predictably glints off its highly reflective antennas. For ground observers located near the center of a Sun reflection, the satellite briefly flares from invisibility to brilliance and then quickly...

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